North Indian Inscriptions

THE GUPTA INSCRIPTIONS

19 Atō bhagavatō mūrttir=iyaṁ yaś=ch=ātra [saṁskritaḥ1] [|*] ubhayaṁ nirddidēś =āsau pituḥ puṇyāya puṇya-dhīr= iti²

TRANSLATION

        (Line 1) Luck !

       (Lines 4-5) The prosperous Chandragupa (II) the Mahārājādhirāja, who was himself without an equal adversary (and) an ardent devotee of Bhagavat (Vāsudēva), who, born of the Mahādēvī Dattadēvī was the son of, and selected (as successor)³ by the prosperous Samudragupta, the Mahārājādhirāja,

       (Lines 1-2) who was the exterminator of all kings; who had no equal adversary on earth; whose fame was tasted by the waters of the four oceans; who was equal to (the gods) Dhanada, Varuṇa, Indra and Antaka; who was the very axe of Kṛitānta (God of Death) who was the giver of many crores of lawfully acquired cows and gold; who was the performer of the aśvamēdha-sacrifice that had long decayed,⁴ (and)

       (Lines 2-4) who was the son of the son’s son of the prosperous Gupta, the Mahārāja; the son’s son of the prosperous Ghaṭōtkacha, the Mahārāja, (and) the son of the prosperous Chandragupta I, the Mahārājādhirāja, the daughter’s son of the Lichchhivi;⁵ (and) of the Mahādēvī Kumāradevi;

       (Lines 5-6). His (Chandragupta II’s) son, who meditates on his feet, is born of the Mahādēvī Dhruvadēvī (and) is an ardent devotee of Bhagavat (Vāsudēva), (is) the prosperous Kumāragupta (I), the Mahārājādhirāja; of him,

       (Verse 1) the power of whose colossal intellect and own caliber was renowned, whose fame was colossal (and) who was the lord of the earth (is) this son (the present king) who is clinging to the lotus-like feet, (still) remembered, of (his) father, whose fame is renowned, and who is (now) the lord of the earth;

       (Verse 2) who, possessing strength of arm most abundantly in the world, is the one hero of the Gupta lineage; whose splendour is as profuse as renowned; who is Skandagupta by name; by whom, in (his) conduct, the conduct of those whose rule of life is virtuous deeds is not violated; and who is again a soul well-disciplined in (musical) tāna and dhīda.⁶

       (Verse 3) By whom, with daily assiduous application, having attained his wish gradually through self-restraint, force, good policy (and) valour was obtained a lesson in organization (of expedition) as is laid down (on a board) for other (kings) intent upon conquest so highly welcome (to them) ;

       (Verse 4) By whom, as he was intent upon steadying the tottering Sovereignty of the House, several nights were spent on a bed, namely, the earth; and, having in a battle vanquished enemies who had developed forces and treasure, (his) left foot was placed on the royal foot-stool;⁷
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¹ Read saṁskṛitaḥ.
² Read punya-dhīḥ [|| 12*] iti.
³ That is, by Samudragupta; see page 254 above, note 1.
⁴ See Introduction, pp. 37-38.
⁵ Another form of this name is Lichchhavi, with the vowel a in the second syllable. As regards the present variant, see page 228 above, note 28.
⁶ These are terms apparently technical to the Indian science of music. And if I have rightly understood this line, it means that Skandagupta was well conversant with music-a conclusion which need not surprise us as we know that his great grandfather, Samudragupta, was an accomplished musician.
⁷ It has been pointed out above that the correct reading seems here to be yudhy=amitrāṁś=cha, and not Pushyamitrāṁś=cha as taken by Fleet. And even though his reading is supposed to be the correct one, the phrase kshitipa-charaṇa-pīṭhē is rendered devoid of all meaning. He, no doubt, translates the line by “he placed his left foot
.....................................................................................................................(Contd. on p. 317)